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Tuesday September 19

watchOS 4 is out today as a free update for all Apple Watch models. The latest version brings three new watch faces including Toy Story and Siri, new versions of Music and the Heart Rate app, enhancements to the Activity and Workout apps including High Intensity Interval Training, and much more.

The Apple Watch interface has been refined and improved with Tuesday's launch of watchOS 4, including a new vertically scrolling app dock, the ability to view installed apps in a list view instead of grid, and new watch faces including a Siri smart assistant and characters from the iconic "Toy Story" films.

iOS 11 just showed up! Hopefully you've prepared yourself for the upgrade and you're now watching your iPhone and/or iPad transform itself into a new, more powerful tool. If you're still on the fence about upgrading, here's an overview of some of the new or improved features of iOS 11.

The Dock

Available on the iPad (and iPhone X?), the Dock should be familiar to anyone who has ever used a Mac. It disappears when you’re in an app, but a swipe from the bottom of the screen brings it right up for quick switching or opening of apps. Apps recently opened on that iPad or on your Mac show up in the right side of the Dock. The latter makes handoff of apps from Mac to iOS easy as pie.

New App Switcher and Control Center

That gesture to bring up the Dock? Continue it up to the middle of the display and the new App Switcher and Control Center appear. The Control Center can be configured to add the controls that are most important...

Apple's iOS 11's first mainstream release is now available, and features includes ARKit, a revamped Control Center with deep 3D Touch support, Do Not Disturb When Driving, a new look for the App Store, a new voice for Siri, multi-speaker support with AirPlay 2, and more.

After months of betas, Apple has released iOS 11 to the general public. Coming mostly as it was advertised at WWDC, the new operating system features a long list of updates, including new HomeKit compatibility thanks to AirPlay 2 capabilities and improved controls for timers, location triggers, speakers and sunrise/sunset times. For devices with cameras that support it, Portrait mode has been expanded to include image stabilization, HDR and True Tone…

As promised Apple on Tuesday released the finished version of tvOS 11, build 15J381, an update for fourth-generation Apple TVs that brings mostly evolutionary improvements, the most significant being live news and sports features in the TV app.

Alongside today’s iOS 11 release, Apple has made tvOS 11 and watchOS 4 available to all users. The tvOS update isn’t quite as flashy as its iOS counterpart, but it does add some cool new features like automatic Dark Mode, iCloud home screen syncing, support for the new AirPlay 2 protocol and tweaks to the interfaces of the Computers, HomeKit and Music apps to streamline the experience. Music also gets an update in watchOS 4, adding support…

YouTube just stepped up its efforts to compete with the likes of Twitch and Mixer. As of today, YouTube Gaming's sponsorships (read: paid subscriptions) are open to any eligible creator. So long as you run a gaming channel that's enabled for livest...

With multitasking, ARKit and more AI smarts, iOS 11 is one of Apple's biggest iOS updates yet. It just started rolling out around the world, so don't be surprised to see a message on your iPhone or iPad soon. If you've been procrastinating, now would...

Apple has just released iOS 11 to the public, for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch users. The major update brings a variety of new features including a redesigned Control Center, a brand-new App Store, the new Files app, Do Not Disturb While Driving, a new Lock Screen / Cover Sheet experience, and much more.

iOS 11 is also a major focus for iPad with new ways to share data and multitask with Drag and Drop, upgraded Split View and a whole new Dock. Read on for our walkthrough of all the new features in iOS 11 …

There’s a new software update out for the fourth-gen Apple TV that brings a few useful new features to the set-top box. tvOS 11 brings automatic dark mode switching, Home Screen Sync, proper AirPods support, and more to the Apple TV.

An anonymous reader shares a report: MacOS High Sierra will come out of beta and roll out to the public next week. If you have previously installed the beta version, you may need to take extra steps before installing the release so your Fusion Drive-toting machine doesn't experience any negative consequences. Apple announced that the new Apple File system (APFS) won't immediately support Fusion Drives and will only support systems with all-flash built-in storage in the initial release of High Sierra. Those who tested out the beta versions of macOS High Sierra had their Fusion Drives converted to the new APFS. However, support was removed from the most recent beta versions, and it isn't coming back with the public release of High Sierra. Apple provided a set of instructions to help those users convert their Fusion Drives back from APFS to the standard HFS+ format before installing the High Sierra update. The instructions include backing up data using Time Machine, creating a...

Last week Apple quietly released iTunes 12.7 to accompany its announcement of new iPhone, Apple TV, and Apple Watch hardware and to correspond with the upcoming release of iOS 11 and macOS High Sierra. Although this latest version is still a relatively minor update in a series of small “point” updates going back to the initial debut of iTunes 12 almost three years ago, it actually represents a major shift in the approach of iTunes, removing…

"Paranoia, fear, body pain, anxiety." Lady Gaga's voice is trembling as she describes what she's been dealing with in an interview with Beats 1's Zane Lowe, unintentionally setting the stage for what Netflix subscribers will see when watching the str...

While 2013's iPhone 5s is the oldest device to support iOS 11, the device takes a smaller performance hit with the new software than the iPhone 5 does running iOS 10, or the iPhone 4S running iOS 9, according to benchmarks shared on Tuesday.

In his first interview since Apple’s iPhone X event last week, today Tim Cook sat down with Good Morning America host Robin Roberts. The interview ranges from covering iOS 11 and ARKit, Cook’s latest thoughts on DACA, and why he thinks the iPhone X at $999 is a “value price.”

Last year's iOS 10 was all about refining Apple's mobile experience -- it was "like polishing a pearl," I noted at the time. Now, with iOS 11, Apple is focusing even more on its big-screen iPad experience, but at the same time, it's leaving the iPhon...

Kids' robotics company Wonder Workshop is launching two new robots designed to introduce children to coding in a fun, hands-on way. First up is Cue, the slightly older sibling of the company's 2014 robot offering Dash (or at the very least it's Dash...

As tempting as it may be to buy a massive SUV, there is such a thing as too big. The last thing you want is to find out that a car won't fit in your garage, or that you'll have no room to open the door when you park at work. But how do you gauge that...

Developer Marco Arment writes about the infamous notch on the iPhone X, which Apple has told developers to embrace rather than ignore: This is the new shape of the iPhone. As long as the notch is clearly present and of approximately these proportions, it's unique, simple, and recognizable. It's probably not going to significantly change for a long time, and Apple needs to make sure that the entire world recognizes it as well as we could recognize previous iPhones. That's why Apple has made no effort to hide the notch in software, and why app developers are being told to embrace it in our designs. That's why the HomePod software leak depicted the iPhone X like this: it's the new basic, recognizable form of the iPhone. Apple just completely changed the fundamental shape of the most important, most successful, and most recognizable tech product that the world has ever seen.

Sprint and T-Mobile have been doing a dance of acquistion and merging for years now, and it looks like all the talk might finally be leading someplace. According to CNBC, the two companies are now actively discussing a merger.

It's incredibly difficult to construct a 3D face from a two-dimensional photograph. That's because a single image makes it very hard to approximate different facial expressions across lighting conditions. But now, a team at The University of Nottingh...

August has updated its Smart Lock and created the new Smart Lock Pro, adding an integrated DoorSense sensor that can let users know remotely whether their door is open or closed. The new Smart Lock ditches the large cylindrical look of the original for a more traditional thumb turn, and also shaves the price from $229 to $149. The more upscale Smart Lock Pro ($279) maintains the original look and includes a Connect Wi-Fi Bridge to allow for control…

Parrot is on a roll! Last week it announced the new Parrot Mambo FPV mini race drone. Now it has just announced the all-new Parrot Bebop 2 Power drone which offers longer flight time, and comes with 2 batteries standard, so you can fly for up to an hour. It also includes the brand new Parrot Cockpitglasses 2 FPV goggles and offers other new features that we will describe after the jump.more…

Diabetics could soon have an effective, non-invasive way to measure glucose levels during exercise, thanks to a patch designed by researchers at the State University of New York. The paper-based patch sticks directly onto the skin like a Band-Aid, an...

Demand for Apple’s high-end flagship iPhone X is “very likely” to cannibalize iPhone 8 pre-orders, predicts KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo in a note sent out to investors this morning.

iPhone pre-orders traditionally sell out in September due to high demand, but this year, many models of the iPhone 8 and the iPhone 8 Plus were available for launch day delivery through the weekend, and continue to remain readily available for launch day pickup in Apple retail stores.

And:

As for the Apple Watch Series 3, Kuo says demand for the LTE version of the device was “significantly stronger” than expected, perhaps due to the “low premium of $70” over the non-LTE version of the watch.

Both are believable. The iPhone X is compelling, no matter how you feel about the notch.

And the low premium over non-LTE Apple Watch models is a small price to pay for the future-proofing it offers. Pay an extra $70, you’ll be able to turn...

MacOS High Sierra will come out of beta and roll out to the public next week. If you have previously installed the beta version, you may need to take extra steps before installing the release so your Fusion Drive-toting machine doesn't experience any negative consequences. Apple announced that the new Apple File system (APFS) won't immediately support Fusion Drives and will only support systems with all-flash built-in storage in the initial release of High Sierra.

Those who tested out the beta versions of macOS High Sierra had their Fusion Drives converted to the new APFS. However, support was removed from...

Sprint Corp said on Monday it will offer Apple Inc’s new iPhone 8 for free with a qualifying phone trade-in, following AT&T Inc’s buy one, get one free promotion on Friday for DirecTV and U-verse TV customers.

And:

Both new and existing customers who enroll in the Sprint Flex leasing program will get a free 64GB iPhone 8 if they trade in newer iPhone and Samsung models, Sprint said on Monday.

AT&T’s video customers could buy a new iPhone 8 or 8 Plus, add a line and receive a $699 credit for a second device beginning with pre-orders on Friday.

Roku could be next in line to create its very own smart speaker. The company's latest batch of job offers, and recent hires, have got Variety speculating that it may be prepping an Amazon Echo clone. Roku is currently advertising for multiple roles,...

Thorstein Veblen was a cranky economist of Norwegian descent who coined the phrase “conspicuous consumption” and theorized that certain products could defy the economic laws of gravity by stoking more demand with superhigh prices.

And:

Typically, raising the price of a good lowers demand for it. If beef becomes too expensive, people will buy more chicken.

Mr. Veblen’s theory posits that some consumers want a product even more when the price rises because the expense broadcasts status, taste and wealth.

And:

By unveiling the new iPhone X last week with a price of $1,000, Apple Inc. is pushing the envelope even further than Samsung Electronics Co., which unveiled the $950 Note 8 phone this year. Rather than trying to attract consumers with cheaper prices, the companies are fighting for customers with expensive price tags.

And:

The biggest spikes came for iPhones that were the most visibly distinct, such as...

Apple prides itself on its fanatical attention to detail, with many stories of the lengths to which Steve Jobs would go in the pursuit of perfecting even the smallest of UI elements. In one of them, Google’s then VP of engineering Vic Gundotra describes being called by Steve at home on a Sunday.

So Vic, we have an urgent issue, one that I need addressed right away. I’ve already assigned someone from my team to help you, and I hope you can fix this tomorrow. I’ve been looking at the Google logo on the iPhone and I’m not happy with the icon. The second O in Google doesn’t have the right yellow gradient.

At launch, the iPhone 8 will recharge via inductive wireless technology at a rate comparable to the standard 5-watt charger that ships with the handset. But Apple plans to improve that speed with a future software update.

If you want to dive deeply into a particular topic, consider using Google's app for iOS instead of your other browsers. The big G has made it much quicker to find and explore articles and other content related to what you're looking at by adding sugg...

Apple’s TV app has started popping up on Apple TVs outside the US ahead of today’s tvOS 11 release, with users in Canada and Australia reporting they gained access overnight, although some said the app was present but not yet functioning in tvOS 10. Apple also claims that the TV app will arrive in France, Germany, Norway, Sweden and the UK by the end of the year, but another feature put on display during last week’s Keynote won’t…

A new survey conducted by Juniper Research has found that over 40% of iOS users in the U.S. consider themselves unlikely to use facial recognition as a payment security technology. The research group says this suggests that a core use case for the iPhone X’s main security feature may struggle to gain traction amongst consumers.

That may be the case, but almost every pundit — including Yours Truly — is expecting the high end iPhone to sell like hot cakes and face a backorder into 2018. Apple says FaceID is “even more convenient than Touch ID.” With Face ID, the iPhone X unlocks only when you’re looking at it. It’s designed to resist spoofing by photos or masks. Your facial map is encrypted and protected by the...

Ahead of the devices' Sept. 22 launch, some reviews of the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus are already beginning to trickle in, comparing them against both earlier iPhone models and the elephant in the room, the OLED-based iPhone X shipping Nov. 3.

CareKit is a tool for assisting people in taking an active role in their care. iPhone apps using the kit make it easier for individuals to keep track of care plans and monitor symptoms and medication; providing insights that help people better understand their own health. With the ability to share information with doctors, nurses or family members, CareKit apps help people take a more active role in their health.

Using Doctella, medical professionals can develop apps specific to their practice and their patient’s individual medical conditions in minutes without any software developers. By integrating with HealthKit and other hospital-grade medical devices and sensors present on patients’ phones or via the cloud, patients can choose to share their information...

We noted in our review roundup that TechCrunch said the iPhone 8 Plus is all about the camera, and CNETs senior photographer James Martin decided to give it a thorough test. He spent three days shooting more than 2,000 images before reaching his verdict.

I set out on an adventure in and around San Francisco, CNET’s hometown, to capture the city’s eclectic mix of architecture, landmarks and natural beauty — testing a range of lighting conditions, photography modes and filters.

I boated on San Francisco Bay, fished on Ocean Beach, biked around Angel Island and walked through Chinatown with the soon-to-be-released iPhone 8 Plus in hand …

For Tuesday’s iLounge Deal, you can get The Definitive iOS 11 Developer Bundle for only $49 — that’s 95% off the full price. With 108 hours of instruction, this tutorial will teach you everything you need to know about iOS 11 app development, with seven modules that will take you from a beginning in Swift 4 right through to advanced coding skills, even covering such topics as machine learning and hidden concepts in iOS 11. Get The Definitive…

Apple has been granted a patent (number 9,766,716) for a “three-dimensional imaging and display system” that hints as 3D input devices for its devices. Macs and iPads seem to be the most logical choices for the invention, should it ever see the light of day.

The tech giant says the invention involves a 3D imaging and display system in which user input is optically detected in an imaging volume by “measuring the path length of an amplitude modulated scanning beam as a function of the phase shift thereof.” Visual image user feedback concerning the detected user input is then presented.

StatGeek has announced Lineup and Lineup Plus for the Mac. They allow users to produce advanced basketball statistics along with statistics on 5-man groups, 2-man groups and 3-man groups in seconds.

Each program works off play-by-play data produced by any number of statistics programs, including StatGeek’s own iPad app. Lineup produces advanced statistics such as effective field goal percentage, true shooting percentage and efficiency along with five-man lineup data.

Lineup Plus produces everything the Lineup does, along with data on two and three man groups so a coach can identify the pairs and trios that are working best together no matter which five-man group they’re partnered with. Lineup is available via StatGeek online for $199 for a 12-month subscription, and Lineup Plus is $399 for a 12-month subscription.

While the iPhone 8 and iPhone X support the older Qi standard for wireless charging using a pad, both devices are also compatible with longer-range resonant induction charging – which works without direct contact with a pad. Resonant charging is a more recent addition to the Qi standard, and gets us one step along the way to truly wireless charging.

A team of MIT alumni have developed a charger that uses this technology, allowing you to use your iPhone while it’s being wirelessly charged …

Apple announced that its Apple Pay Cash feature will not ship until an update “coming this fall.” It is not clear is this is a delay, or if Apple didn’t plan on rolling out the feature with the launch of iOS 11.

It’s been noted that Apple announced that the feature would be added following the iOS 11 launch, similar to the way it originally launched Apple Pay itself.

Apple Pay Cash payments will be initiated through a dedicated app within Apple’s Messages in iOS 11. The service will integrate with Siri’s new machine learning capabilities, offering suggested amounts to send based on the context of conversations had within messages.

Following a money transfer, the funds will be available via a prepaid “Apple Pay Cash” card through partner Green Dot. The cash card can be used to make Apple Pay purchases in stores, in apps, or on the web, or it can be transferred to the user’s bank...

iOS is, generally speaking, easy to use, but there are exceptions. Determining how to add photos from a Shared album to an existing Photos library isn’t especially intuitive.

Let me explain. Saturday was the two-year birthday party for my granddaughter, Elizabeth. Family members took lots of photos and published them in the “Sharing” section of the Photos app.

I wanted to move some of the pics to a photos album I created and dubbed “Elizabeth’s Second Birthday in my Photos library. It’s easy to do this on a Mac; you can just drag and drop. However, when I selected photos in iOS’s Photos on my iPad, there were options to Airdrop ‘em, email ‘em, Message ‘em, etc., but no obvious way to simply implement an “add to album” option.

Instead, as I finally discovered with Steve Sande’s help, with iOS Photos, you must open an album, tap Select, and choose Add (at the top left side of the screen). Then you can select items to add to an album.

Recently, I tried to send an email from my iPad Pro, but got this message: “Unable to Send Email. A copy has been placed in your Outbox. The sender address ‘dennis.sellers@comcast.net’ was rejected by the server.

However, the email settings are the same in both my macOS Mail app and my iOS Mail app. I made sure that the Outgoing Mail Server SMTP was set to smtp.comcast.net. Folks have had problems with the Comcast server switching itself to “smtp.me.com” or something like that and having to be changed backbefore anything works properly again.

All of which begs the question: why doesn’t the Mail prefs simply sync automatically across multiple Apple devices to avoid problems in setting up email accounts on all my Apple devices. I want to set up my emails once, and not have to worry about dealing with server info every time I buy or update a macOS or iOS device.

I was tempted to write this review under the conceit that there was no such thing as the iPhone X. Just don’t even mention the iPhone X, and consider the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus as though they were the only two new phones coming from Apple this year. That conceit would work, insofar as the iPhones 8 are excellent year-over-year upgrades compared to their iPhone 7 counterparts.

But ignoring the iPhone X would actually do an injustice to the 8 and 8 Plus, because so much of what is inside the X is also inside the 8’s. These phones are in no way shape or form1 some sort of half-hearted or minor update over the iPhone 7.

The Outside: Design and Display

These new iPhones look and feel great. I’ve been testing a silver iPhone 8 and gold iPhone 8 Plus since last Wednesday. Whether you like the way their polished back glass looks is subjective, but I like it a lot. Feel-wise, there’s no question in my mind that...

Apple introduced the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus during a special event at its new Apple Park campus last week. While many people were focused on the launch of the iPhone X, the iPhone 8 is an incredible piece of hardware that features many improvements over its predecessor. I’ve been testing both the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus for about a week.

The iPhone 8 and 8 Plus are Apple’s newest handsets introduced during its first event at the new Steve Jobs Theater at its also new Apple Park campus last week. But you can’t possibly consider the new phones without noting that Apple this year is breaking from tradition and launching a third flagship model that is radically different than the 8 and 8 Plus. It’s called iPhone X, as in the 10th anniversary edition of the device. It is smaller than the 8 Plus yet has a bigger OLED screen with a controversial notch and it starts at $1000. We hope to have a review of it shortly.

The iPhone 8, however, is by no means a slouch of an update. I’ve been testing both the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus (following some hands on time with the iPhone X at Apple’s event) and I must say the impressive update is way more...

Sometimes, there are simply too many Mac games to cover! Believing that nothing is going on with Mac gaming because no one mentions anything would be a shame. To remedy that, here’s an overview of the most exciting Mac games I’ve discovered recently:

SteamWorld Dig 2 (coming Sept. 22): We might as well start with the one coming next. SteamWorld Dig 2 is a platform mining adventure about digging deep, gaining riches, and exploring an underworld filled with dangers.

Taking place between the first game and SteamWorld Heist, SteamWorld Dig 2 aims to improve a proven formula with key additions such as the ability to reassign cogs used to upgrade various gear, more fluid movements, more meaningful boss battles, and more.

Tannenberg (coming Nov. 16): From the creators of the first-person shooter Verdun, comes Tannenberg, another shooter set in WW1. Although this time the game takes...

You have to feel a little sorry for anyone who has been burning the midnight oil working on the iPhone 8/Plus. A new iPhone would normally be getting a huge amount of attention, but in this case the device has been completely over-shadowed by the iPhone X.

The iPhone 8 should, at least, get its own 15 minutes of fame today, as the first reviews go live. We’ve rounded up the early ones, including our own …

Bothered by the ever-increasing prevalence of tech support phone scams? When you have some time to listen, check out the Reply All podcast’s two-part “Long Distance” show. It documents host Alex Goldman’s efforts to track down the company and people behind an Indian call center that tried to scam him.

Read the full article at TidBITS, the oldest continuously published technology publication on the Internet. To get a full-text RSS feed, help support our work and become a TidBITS member! Members also enjoy an ad-free version of our Web site, email delivery of individual articles, the ability to make long comments with live links, and discounts on Take Control orders and other Apple-related products.

On a regular basis, Apple World Today posts a list of notable new apps or app updates that have been released. They may not necessarily be new, but they're popular and deserve mention. Here are today's picks.

iOS Apps/Updates

Button Software Technology has introduced Becolor 1.0. It’s a free coloring app targeted to adults. Becolor has more than 100 water colors, over 40 preset styles, and categories including art, fantasy, girls, nature, and much more with endless possibilities.

macOS Apps/Updates

Rogue Amoeba has updated Fission, its macOS audio editor. Version 2.4 brings revamped support for creating custom ringtones for use on the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch.

iTunes 12.7 removed several features, including support for managing...

Monday September 18

Smart lock manufacturer August on Tuesday unveiled a new hardware lineup headlined by the revamped Smart Lock Pro, HomeKit-compatible retrofit device that boasts all-new "DoorSense" technology that alerts users when their door is left ajar. A second, more affordable device also launched, as did a new version of the Doorbell Cam.

August is upgrading its connected home lineup with two new smart locks including a new design and an updated doorbell cam with more features. August is also introducing a clever new technology called DoorSense that delivers several benefits to smart lock features.

Apple on Monday began rolling out its TV app in Australia and Canada ahead of tomorrow's scheduled iOS 11 and tvOS 11 release, which will deliver the one-stop streaming hub to seven additional countries later this fall.

Earlier this month, a detailed report described an elaborate, Apple Watch-based scheme set up by the Boston Red Sox to steal signs in numerous games. Now, however, Boston Globe reporter Nick Cafardo says it wasn’t actually an Apple Watch, but rather a Fitbit device…

It's the day before three operating systems -- iOS, watchOS and tvOS -- get major upgrades, so we've got some fun and useful information for to help you along your way. In addition, if you were running macOS High Sierra beta in APFS on an iMac or other Fusion Drive Mac, Apple wants you to switch back to HFS+:

PCalc will have a fun augmented reality Easter egg built into it when iOS 11 is installed

What Apple Watches will watchOS 4 run on? What iOS devices will iOS 11 run on? We have the short list here in the podcast

If you're a bold person and plan on doing the iOS updates tomorrow, we've got some suggestions for you on how to get things prepared

Complete instructions on how to convert a Fusion Drive that was converted to APFS back to HFS+ are here, and they're not for the faint-hearted

The text version of the podcast can be read below. To listen to the podcast here, click the play button on the player below. Apple News readers...

When macOS High Sierra is released to the public next week, the new Apple File System (APFS) feature will be limited to Macs with all-flash built-in storage, which means it won’t work with iMacs that include Fusion Drives.

iMacs with Fusion Drives were converted to APFS during the beta testing process in the first macOS High Sierra beta, but support was removed in subsequent betas and not reimplemented.

Recent accusations that the Boston Red Sox used an Apple Watch to steal signs from the New York Yankees were misguided, since the team may have actually used a Fitbit instead, according to one reporter.

Intel has been powering virtual reality sports viewing for some time now. The chip maker has enabled VR for the Olympics, Major League Baseball and the National Football League, and has taken virtual reality to the golf course with the PGA. It's this...

Read the full article at TidBITS, the oldest continuously published technology publication on the Internet. To get a full-text RSS feed, help support our work and become a TidBITS member! Members also enjoy an ad-free version of our Web site, email delivery of individual articles, the ability to make long comments with live links, and discounts on Take Control orders and other Apple-related products.

In ExtraBITS this week, macOS 10.13 High Sierra won’t support APFS on Fusion Drives at first, Apple has banned fraudulent “virus scanners” from the iOS App Store, you can now watch HDR iTunes movies on 2017 iPad Pro models, and, speaking of the iPad Pro, Apple has quietly raised the price of many of its configurations.

Read the full article at TidBITS, the oldest continuously published technology publication on the Internet. To get a full-text RSS feed, help support our work and become a TidBITS member! Members also enjoy an ad-free version of our Web site, email delivery of individual articles, the ability to make long comments with live links, and discounts on Take Control orders and other Apple-related products.

Shure, the UK audio company that made its bones early in the middle of the 20th century with its iconic Unidyne grill microphones, got into producing high-end earphones and headsets in the late 1990s. The company is finally joining the rest of the au...

Whether it’s the upcoming iPhone X, Nintendo’s new Switch console or even Google’s Pixel last year, shortages of new electronics have become the norm. While the delay of the iPhone X launch past the iPhone 8 adds even more disappointment for consumers on top of expected constrained supply, you have to wonder, is it really just component shortages causing the issue? A recent piece in The Wall Street Journal takes a closer look at why there are always iPhone shortages and why it’s particularly worse this year.

For the past several decades, cities have designed streets around the assumption that they'll be used for personal cars. If you need a poster child for this, you just have to look at Los Angeles' Wilshire Boulevard -- it has a whopping 10 lanes for v...

Intel has been so committed to break into the self-driving car market that it bought autonomous tech-maker MobilEye for $15 billion earlier this year. While Intel's tech has powered Waymo's test fleet of autonomous Chrysler minivans for a while, the...

One of the new specifications to appear on the new iPhone 8 and iPhone X is Bluetooth 5, an enhancement of the Bluetooth 4.2 Low Energy protocol. Its primary benefit enables BLE devices (such as iBeacons, wearable sensors and other low-power fixtures of the "Internet of Things") to work over greater distances or at faster speeds.

Things are about to get even worse for Equifax, and rightfully so. According to reports from Bloomberg, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) has opened a criminal investigation into Equifax officials' stock sales just before the announcement of the sec...

A new payment service from Apple is set to launch sometime this fall through iOS 11 and watchOS 4 updates. Apple Pay Cash will allow Apple device users to transfer money between each other within Messages or through Siri.

The Apple Watch now has three distinct models at three separate price points, giving consumers more options than ever -- but also making buying decisions more difficult. Should you get a Series 3 with cellular, without cellular, or a Series 1? AppleInsider is here to help.

Successful holiday shopping is all about preparation, and right now you can start getting ready with a free one-year membership for ShopRunner. The only requirement is that you have a PayPal account, and sign-up for your ShopRunner membership using the same email address you use on PayPal.

This is a pretty good deal, as ShopRunner memberships usually costs $79.95 per year, though there are other ways you can get a free account. American Express and select Mastercard cardholders, for example, get complimentary access to ShopRunner as part of their credit card accounts.

If you've never heard of it, ShopRunner is a multi-retailer alternative to Amazon Prime. With ShopRunner you also get free, 2-day shipping, free return shipping, and members-only deals. ShopRunner service works with all kinds of retailers that include technology shops like...

You know how Sony is adamant about not allowing cross-platform play between PlayStation 4, Switch and Xbox One? Well, something interesting happened in Epic Games' Fortnite over the weekend: Xbox players were found in a handful PlayStation Battle Roy...

In a note to clients — as noted by AppleInsider — KGI Securities analyst says the Apple Watch Series 3 is selling better than expected and the iPhone X is stealing sales from the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus.

He estimates that the LTE-enabled Apple Watch Series 3 has accounted for between 80% and 90% of preorders. Apple began accepting orders last Friday, and the first shipments will arrive on Friday, Sept. 22.

Kuo says the iPhone X has cannibalized some iPhone 8/8 Plus orders. The analyst expects investors to have a conservative outlook for the iPhone 8/8 Plus, while consumers await the debut of the iPhone X, which goes on sale Oct. 23.

Synology has launched a new product lineup featuring: the DS3018xs, the company’s first 6-bay tower NAS with optional 10GbE and NVMe SATA SSD supports; plus-series DS918+, DS718+, and DS218+, and the value-series DS418.

To allow for high performance using SSD cache without occupying internal drive bays, DS3018xs features a PCIe slot, which can be installed with a dual M.2 SATA SSD adapter card (M2D17). DS918+ comes with dedicated dual M.2 NVMe slots at the bottom where you can directly install M.2 NVMe SSDs. DS418 features 10-bit H.265 4K video transcoding, and while supporting the next-generation Btrfs file system in DSM 6.2 official, expected to release in the first quarter of 2018.

DS3018xs, Synology's first 6-bay tower NAS, features the Intel’s advanced Pentium D1508 dual-core 2.2GHz processor with an AES-NI encryption engine; offering scalability of RAM up to 32GB and storage capacity up to 30 drives with two...

Wicked Audio has a surprisingly wide range of headphones on offer — over 30 by our count — all marketed squarely at young people who enjoy extreme sports. The Endo, which we'll review here today, is a Bluetooth on-ear headphone that could be a good choice for the budget-conscious, but its execution holds it back just short of the mark.
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In case it wasn't already clear that Microsoft is big on the concept of mixed reality (read: augmented and virtual reality), the company is about to drive the point home. It's inviting the media to a Windows Mixed Reality event in San Francisco on O...

If you went to school in the US in the early 1990s, chances are you have fond memories of playing the computer game The Oregon Trail. Now, schoolchildren around the world will be able to replicate that experience thanks to a new Minecraft: Education...

KGI Securities has issued a new report on iPhone 8 and Apple Watch Series 3 pre-order sales after the initial launch weekend. Both new products hit stores this Friday with pre-orders starting three days ago. KGI believes the iPhone X may be impacting iPhone 8 sales while the Apple Watch Series 3 is seeing stronger-than-expected demand.

It fascinates me that succession from a successful CEO to the chosen successor almost always goes badly. This phenomenon isn't limited to the CEO level -- I've seen highly successful CMOs followed by handpicked successors who also seem to have no clue as to why their predecessor did so well. I think it comes down to a lack of mentoring combined with misconceptions. People with different backgrounds often think their predecessor was lucky rather than smart. With Steve Jobs, it was always known that replacing him would be incredibly difficult.

Some Reddit users reported yesterday that Apple has increased its screen repair prices for certain iPhone models. Fixing a broken iPhone 6s or 7 screen will now cost $149, up from $129. And repairs for iPhone 6s Plus and 7 Plus screens has increased...

China's crackdown on bitcoin could extend well past big commercial exchanges. Wall Street Journal sources claim that the country is leaning toward a "comprehensive" ban on bitcoin trading channels, such as over-the-counter platforms that help buyers...

iOS 11 is due for release tomorrow. However, one feature, Apple Pay Cash, will arrive in an update to iOS 11 (and watchOS 4) won’t arrive for a while. Apple says it’s coming this fall.

With iOS 11, Apple Pay users will be able to make and receive payments with friends and family quickly and securely. They can send money and get paid right in Messages, or tell Siri to pay someone, using the credit and debit cards they already have in Wallet.

When users get paid, they receive the money in their new Apple Pay Cash account. They can use the money instantly to send to someone, make purchases using Apple Pay in stores, apps and on the web, or transfer it from Apple Pay Cash to their bank account.

Casetify is partnering with AppleInsider this week to offer readers the chance to win a smartphone case valued at up to $45. Fifteen winners will be drawn -- and each winner can select from a variety of Casetify cases, including covers for the new iPhone 8, 8 Plus and iPhone X.

Apple previewed its new virtual debit card and person-to-person payment feature called Apple Pay Cash back at WWDC in June, but the feature wasn’t present in iOS 11 and watchOS 4 betas over the summer. Apple shared the final version of iOS 11.0 and watchOS 4.0 with testers last week, and Apple Pay Cash was still not enabled. Now Apple has acknowledged the missing feature and shared an update for when we can expect to see it ship.

Software Updates via MacUpdate

iStat Menus 6.00 - Monitor your system r...

iStat Menus lets you monitor your system right from the menubar. Included are 8 menu extras that let you monitor every aspect of your system.
Features
CPU -- Monitor cpu usage. 7 display modes,... Read more

Airfoil 5.6.4 - Send audio from any app...

Airfoil allows you to send any audio to AirPort Express units, Apple TVs, and even other Macs and PCs, all in sync! It's your audio - everywhere.
With Airfoil you can take audio from any... Read more

Hazel 4.2 - Create rules for organizing...

Hazel is your personal housekeeper, organizing and cleaning folders based on rules you define. Hazel can also manage your trash and uninstall your applications.
Organize your files using a familiar... Read more

Tor Browser Bundle 7.0.6 - Anonymize Web...

The Tor Browser Bundle is an easy-to-use portable package of Tor, Vidalia, Torbutton, and a Firefox fork preconfigured to work together out of the box. It contains a modified copy of Firefox that... Read more

Mellel 4.0.1 - The word processor for sc...

Mellel is the leading word processor for OS X and has been widely considered the industry standard for long form documents since its inception. Mellel focuses on writers and scholars for technical... Read more

Videobox 4.2.3 - Download Flash video th...

Videobox allows you to quickly and easily download Flash video from most all of the popular video sites on the internet. Videobox will convert the video into a native Quicktime format so it's ready... Read more

Apple iBooks Author helps you create and publish amazing Multi-Touch books for iPad. Now anyone can create stunning iBooks textbooks, cookbooks, history books, picture books, and more for iPad. All... Read more

OmniFocus 2.11 - GTD task manager with i...

OmniFocus helps you manage your tasks the way that you want, freeing you to focus your attention on the things that matter to you most.
Capturing tasks and ideas is always a keyboard shortcut away in... Read more

Path Finder 7.6 - Powerful, award-winnin...

Path Finder makes you a master of file management. Take full control over your file system. Save your time: compare and synchronize folders, view hidden files, use Dual Pane and full keyboard... Read more

Latest Forum Discussions

The much anticipated space exploration game, Morphite, has finally arrived, and we can't get enough of it. The game is essentially everything we wanted No Man's Sky to be. It's a game that puts a heavy focus on exploring foreign worlds, but the... | Read more »

The best visual novels on mobile

Narrative games have been around for ages, but only now have they been creeping into the mainstream spotlight. These games tell some of the industry's finest stories, and they break new ground in terms of gameplay and mechanics regularly. Here are... | Read more »

The best new games we played this week -...

It's pretty much been one big release after another. We were privy to a bunch of surprises this week, with a lot of games we'd been waiting for quite some time dropping unexpectedly. We hope you're free this weekend, because there is a lot for... | Read more »

Stormbound: Kingdom Wars guide - how to...

Stormbound: Kingdom Wars is an excellent new RTS turned card battler out now on iOS and Android. Lovers of strategy will get a lot of enjoyment out of Stormbound's chess-like mechanics, and it's cardbased units are perfect for anyone who loves the... | Read more »

The best AR apps and games on iOS right...

iOS 11 has officially launched, and with it comes Apple's ARKit, a helpful framework that makes it easier than ever for developers to create mobile AR experiences. To celebrate the occassion, we're featuring some of the best AR apps and games on... | Read more »

Nothing raises excitement like a good competition, and we’re thrilled to announce our latest contest. We’ll be sending one lucky reader and a friend to the Summoners War World Arena Championship at Le Comedia in Paris on October 7th. It’s the... | Read more »

Another Lost Phone: Laura's Story...

Another Lost Phone: Laura's Story 1.0
Device: iOS Universal
Category: Games
Price: $2.99, Version: 1.0 (iTunes)
Description:
Another Lost Phone is a game about exploring the social life of a young woman whose phone you have just... | Read more »

The Witness (Games)

The Witness 1.0
Device: iOS Universal
Category: Games
Price: $9.99, Version: 1.0 (iTunes)
Description:
You wake up, alone, on a strange island full of puzzles that will challenge and surprise you.
You don't remember who you are, and... | Read more »

Price Scanner via MacPrices.net

macOS High Sierra Brings Powerful New Core St...

Apple has announced the release of macOS High Sierra, the latest Mac operating system, as a free update.
With macOS High Sierra, Mac users gain powerful new core storage, video and graphics... Read more

QuickerTek Announces External Battery For USB...

QuickerTek has announced their USB Type-C Most Versatile eyeBattery, claimed to be the only product of its kind, featuring the USB 3.1 adapter cable necessary to power and charge the 2015-2017... Read more

How to save $200 or more on a new 15-inch App...

B&H Photo has the new 2017 15″ MacBook Pros on sale for up to $200 off MSRP. Shipping is free, and B&H charges sales tax in NY & NJ only:
– 15″ 2.8GHz MacBook Pro Space Gray (MPTR2LL/A... Read more

9-inch and 12-inch iPad Pros, Certified Refur...

Apple has Certified Refurbished 2016 12″ WiFi iPad Pros available starting at $589. An Apple one-year warranty is included with each model, and shipping is free:
– 32GB 12″ iPad Pro WiFi: $589... Read more

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